Antiviral and antitumor activities of the protein fractions from the larvae of the housefly, Musca domestica

Abstract

In this study, we present the extraction and purification of protein fractions from the larvae of the housefly, Musca domestica. The bioactivities of the protein fractions were indicated by pseudorabies virus (PRV) and human lung cancer cell line A 549. The crude protein fractions had no toxicity to chick embryo fibroblast-like (CEF) cells but effective to PRV at the concentration of 100 μg/ml (dilute ratio of 1:100). Furthermore, they exhibited better antiviral effect when added to CEF cells 1 h after PRV infection than 1 h prior to PRV infection and could directly deactivate and hinder the adsorption or penetration of PRV into CEF cells. In addition, two major peaks (A1 and A2) were found by DEAE-52 from the crude protein fractions, but only the purified protein fraction A2 showed antiviral and antitumor activities. The results suggest that the protein fractions extracted and purified from the larvae of the housefly have antiviral and antitumor activities and can be further studied.

Key words: Musca domestica, antiviral, antitumor, protein.